Indoor air quality is maintained by the use of low VOC materials and an energy efficient ventilation system. All the lighting in and around the building is energy efficient, especially the LED lighting used for the exterior.

To house such a spectacular collection, HOK designed the museum to complement the art, and give visitors a “Dalí-esque” experience, but at the same time protect the work from any foreseeable danger, especially hurricanes and flooding. As such, the museum was designed to withstand 165 mph wind loads from a Category 5, 200-year hurricane and includes 18 inch, cast-in place, reinforced concrete walls and a 12 inch thick roof. Storm doors shield the vault and galleries, which are all located on the third floor, protected against 30 foot hurricane storm surges. All of the glass is one-and-a-half inches thick, insulated and laminated, and was tested to resist the 135 mph winds, driven rain and missile impacts of a Category 3 hurricane.

Inspiration for the museum’s design came from Dalí’s work, as well as Buckminster Fuller, who particularly influenced the artist. The three story building is a large concrete box, mysterious in its simplicity and accented by the fantastical geodesic glass atrium. Called the “Enigma”, after one of Dalí’s paintings, the faceted atrium crawls over the facade of the building and its shape is formed by a 75 foot tall spiraling staircase inside the lobby. Building Integrated Modeling was utilized to design and build the complex geometry of the organic glass structure.

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3 Comments

MichealOctober 5, 2011 at 12:27 am

You put the lime in the coconut and drink the artilce up.

namgiangMay 29, 2011 at 5:30 am

Why must every modern architecture have blank concrete walls and glass?? Where is the colour? Where is the texture? Where is the character? I have been to Dali’s own museum he designed in Figueres which has large eggs on the roof and loaves on bread on the outside of the building and he’s own residence welcomes the absurd also and if i had to compare it to this “inspired by Dali” building I would say i was looking at an office building.

I would loved to haven seen this unique architecture closer to Orlando or Miami, as I think it would be more fitting. Who knows? Maybe it would’ve been more expensive or simply not enough room? Either way it’s beautiful.